Process for reproducing marbleized surfaces on composite building materials



Oct. 24, 1933. Q LOETSCHER 1,931,667

PROCESS FOR REPROD UCING MARBLEIZED SURFACES ON COMPOSITE BUILDINGMATERIALS Filed Feb. 26, 1951 MOE 12067 aog w. .ZYwul C. L02 Asoka/7 @M-g WWWMMW- Patented Oct. 24, 1933 PATENT OFFICE 1,931,667 PROCESS FORREPRODUCING MARBLEIZED SURFACES- ON COMPOSITE MATERIALS BUILDING Emil C.Loctscher, Dubuque, Iowa Application February 26, 1931. Serial No.518,401

6 Claims. (Cl. 91-68) This invention relates to improvements inprocesses for reproducing on the surface of sheets, panels or slabs ofcomposite and other building materials, the variegated coloring designsand luster of the various marbles used for :interior decoration andtrim.

In a word, the process is one for the production of a marble surfacefinish which, when applied to various'wall covering materials, wouldfind extensive usage for interior decoration which "would not admit ofthe use of the natural stone. Such a material would be relativelyinexpensive, easy to handle'and apply, and yet faithfully reproducingthe effect of a polished marble surface. Marbles are preferablyreproduced by the present process, because they occur'in nature in agreat variety of shades, color combinations and distinctive patterns inmottled.- veined and cloudy effects which lend themselves: readily toreproduction, although the coloring and surface markings of otherbuilding stone such'as limestone, sandstone and even granite, may alsobe reproduced.

The process, in so far as it admits of illustration, is disclosed in theaccompanying drawing, I inwhich v V Figure 1 is a perspective view ofthe tank and "water bath, showing the manner in which the color film maybe transferred to a sheet of paper.

Figure 2 is adetail view in vertical section through the water bath andsheetduring the operation of transferring the color film, and

a Figure 3 is a perspective view of a fragment of a composite sheethaving a decorated surface produced by theprocess.

Since the process and the resulting product is essentially a matter ofsurface finish or decoration, the base material is secondary and hencemay be one of many forms of material available,

as for example, wood panels of various thicknesses, pulp or fibrouspanel'board, plasterboard and other composite building materials insheet or slab form which may be cut or sawed by ordinary wood-workingtools and nailed or otherwise fastened to a wall, column or otherarchitectural detail. I I Referring now to the process of producing thesurface coating to be later applied to the selected basematerial, themedium is preferably paper or like fibrous material on which theparticular design is delineated in the desired colors and pattern, andthen treated with a resinous varnish.

The initial formation of the pattern and the method of transferring itto the sheet of paper is perhaps the most interesting and novel part ofthe process.

A shallow tank 1 of, say, 4 or 5 inches in depth, and of any desiredlength and width (depending on the size of the sheets to be prepared) isfilled to a depth of 3 or 4 inches, that is, within an inch constant andthe body of water quiescent, al-

though as will presently be seen, surface disturbances may be producedby extraneous means.

The next step in the process is the preparation of the coloringmaterials which would generally be designated as oil paint, that is, amineral pigment finely ground and thoroughly mixed with linseed,Chinawood or other suitable drying oil. Under certain conditions aliquid hydrocarbon may also be added to the oil color, par-' ticularlywhen more than one color or shade enters intothe design to bereproduced.

- In its simplest aspect, the process of creating the desired patternsis to distribute minute quantities of an oil color upon the surface ofthe water bath as in drops or globules, whereupon it immediately spreadsout in a thin film in more or less irregular formations. Now, thephenomenon of oil spreading in a very thin film over the surface ofwater, is well known, and is explained by the fact that the surfacetension is weakened by the presence of the oil, causing an immediatespreading over a wide area when dropped upon the surface of the water.

Thus, drops of an oil color behave in like manner when they come intocontact with the surface of the water, forming a film which may notspread uniformly over the surface, but rather break up into vein-like ormottled patterns similar to the markings found in natural marble.

Thus utilizingone color or shade, there may be open water betweenirregular patches of the oil film.. Again, using two or more colors, thefilms will intersperse with each other, thus giving the a ground ofwhite or color tint. Similarly, patterns in two or more colors may becreated by varying the amount and proportions of colors used,accompanied by a gentle agitation of the water as by directing a currentof air upon the surface or circulating a stream of water beneath thesurface.

Again, the patterns may be varied by mixing different hydrocarbonsolvents with the oil pigments, such as alcohol, benzine or benzol.These solvents coming into contact with the surface of the water,produce different surface tensions, and consequently the films behavedifferently and with varied results.

A further variation in the patterns may be obtained by first introducinga soap solution on the surface of the water, any ordinary domestic soapbeing suitable. The result is the formation of a scum as the soap reactswith the alum in the water, this scum being even more stable than thatproduced by the oil colors, requiring the use of some implement such asa knife to break it up. Having broken up the soap film or scum howeverand agitating the surface of the water, the pieces distribute themselvesas irregularly shaped blocks of relatively large area and of a solidlight color such as white, pink, green, etc., the color being obtainableby using a colored soap such as used for dyeing fabrics. The blocks orangularly shaped areas of solid color are intended to reproduce the samepattern found in natural marbles, and which presumably are largecrystalline formations running through the mass. Between these blocksare the mottled patterns in one or more colors, produced by theoilpigments as already described.

The dropping of a color pigment on the water sets up considerablesurface movement as the film spreads and arranges itself. Moreover, acertain physical change takes place in the character of the film, due tothe presence of the alum in the water, namely, the conversion from arelatively unstable and easily disrupted film into a fairly stable andhard scum, a condition that is quite essential to the removal of thefilm from the surface of the water.

When the surface movement has ceased and the film arranged in its moreor less stable scumlike form, it is now ready to be removed by beingtransferred to a sheet of paper. For this part of the process, thinsheets of paper, such as alpha cellulose paper is used, the same beingpreviously sized to make it waterproof to a degree. A sizing found to besatisfactory is gasoline with a small amount of linseed oil mixed withit. s The sizing of the paper is imperative as unsized paper wouldabsorb the water, become weakened and cause the colors to run.

The sized paper is quite dry when preceding with the transfer operation,which preferably is accomplished by suspending the sheet 2 over the tankin the form of a loop and then lowering it so that the shorter end comesinto contact with the surface of the water near one end of the tank inthe manner shown in Figure 1. Then by slowing rolling the looped web orsheet of paper in contact with the surface toward the opposite end ofthe tank, the patterned film is transferred bodily from the surface ofthe water to the surface of the paper, without the trapping of airbetween, which manifestly would cause voids in the pattern transferred.

The process shown and described is one that may be carried out by hand,but the same process may be accomplished by mechanical means, even tothe transfer of a continuously forming film to a continuously moving webof paper.

The paper used is preferably colored or tinted to carry out'the basecolor of the particular pattern of marble being reproduced, the coloredfilm in such cases being deposited on the sheet in streaks or patches,while the color of the sheet produces the ground.

After the color film has been transferred to the paper, it is allowed todry naturally or is dried by artificial means, and then is coated onboth sides with a resinous varnish, preferably 9. varnish having aphenol-formaldehyde condensate base such as bakelite. The varnishtreated sheet is now dried and is then ready to be applied to the basematerial by heat and pressure to form a. composite sheet or slab asshown in Figure 2. This final operation is carried out in a press, thebase material 3 of the selected kind preferably having one or moresheets 4 of plain paper treated with the same varnish between itssurface and the outer decorated sheet, and a like number on its reverseface, so that the tension on both sides may be equalized to avoidsubsequent warping.

The combined effect of the heat and pressure fuses the resinous coatingand. produces a hard insoluble surface film, while the pressure reducesthe materials to a solid sheet or slab having a smooth polished surfacefinish, having all the markings and appearance of a marble surface;

The finished material can be used wherever the effect of a marblesurface is desired in interior decorating, without the expense ofreproducing the same effect in natural stone. Manifestly it has not thepermanency or richness of appearance of natural marble, but provides anexceedingly practical, inexpensive and satisfactory substitute forcertain kinds of work.

Having set forth a practical method of utilizing the process, I claim:

l. A process for reproducing ornamental effects simulating the surfacepatterns of marble and'like decorative stone consisting of dropping anoil pigment upon the surface of a water bath containing alum insolution, and allowing the same to spread over the surface in a thinfilm of a'predet'ermined pattern and transferring the pattern to thesurface of a sheet offibrous material by surface to surface contact.

2. A process for reproducing ornamental effects simulating the surfacepatterns of marble and like and allowing the same to arrange themselvesin thin films of a distinctive pattern and color combination, renderedrelatively stable by the presence of the alum in solution, andtransferring the film to a sheet of fibrous material by bringing thesurface of the sheet into contact with the surface of the bath. H

3. A process for reproducing ornamental effects simulating the surfacepatterns of marble and like decorative stone, consisting of maintaininga bath of hot water containing a small amount of alum in a shallow tank,dropping a small quantity of a predetermined color pigment mixed with ahydrocarbon solvent upon the surface of the bath, and allowing it toform a color'film of a distinctive pattern and transferring-the film tothe surface of a sized sheet of paper.

4. A process for reproducing ornamentaleffects simulating the surfacepatterns of marblexand like decorative stone, consisting of maintaininga bath of hot water containing a small amount: of

alum in a shallow tank, dropping small quantities of different coloredoil pigments mixed with different hydrocarbon solvents upon the surfaceof the bath while agitating the surface of the bath sufiiciently tocause the film formed by the oil pigment to distribute itself in adistinctive pattern and transferring the film without displacement tothe surface of a sized sheet of paper by a rollthe surface of the waterto a sheet of fibrous material.

6. A process for reproducing ornamental effects simulating a marblesurface, consisting of maintaining a bath of hot water containing asmall amount of alum in solution, introducing a soap solution on thesurface of the bath thereby forming a relatively stable film, breakingup said film and agitating the surface of the water to distribute thesoap film in the form of irregularly shaped blocks over the surface ofthe water, introducing oil colors of a contrasting shade into thesurface of the water to form a film of a mottled pattern between thesegments of the soap film, and transferring the composite films to asheet of paper by contact.

EMIL C. LOETSCHZER.

